278 F. 947 | D. Maryland | 1922
In March and April of 1920, the French Republic bought, and the respondents, Baltimore grain dealers, sold, some thousands of tons of rye, f. o. b. ship Baltimore. The buyer was to send a vessel or vessels for the grain, which the sellers were to deliver not later than the 31'st of July, 1920. The price was to be paid in Paris, upon presentation of draft there with the usual shipping documents. The buyer hired a ship to carry the rye across the Atlantic, and by the terms of its charter party the vessel was—
“to be loaded according to berth terms, with customary berth dispatch, and if detained longer than five days, Sundays and holidays excepted, the charterer was to pay demurrage at the rate of $1 United States currency per net registered ton per day, and pro rata, payable day by day as incurred.”
When, in conformity with the terms of the contract with the sellers, the buyer sent word to them that the ship was ready for loading, it also in effect told them, that, if there was delay in the delivery of the grain, they would have to pay this demurrage. As it turned out, it was well on into Augúst before the respondents delivered the rye to the ship, and in consequence the buyer became liable to the vessel for a demurrage bill of upwards of $40,000, and now seeks in this admiralty proceeding to recover from the sellers.
The sellers deny that they owe anything, asserting that they are protected by the strike clause of their contract, and they further insist that, whatever may be the relative rights of the parties, admiralty has no jurisdiction over-the controversy between them. In their view, they were merely sellers of merchandise, and there was nothing maritime about the bargain they made. The circumstance that the buyer wanted the grain transported by water did not alter the essential nature of the agreement.
The exception to the jurisdiction of the court of admiralty must be sustained, and, as the reform of pleading and practice has not yet gone far enough to permit a transfer of the case to the law side of the court, the libel must be dismissed.